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Died, Wednesday, April llth, 1894, at his home, 202 Glen Street, in 
the Village of Glens Falls, Hon. Orange Ferriss, in the Soth year 
of his age. 






* v»* 



IN EXCHANGE 




£ hear travelers and woodsmen tell of mighty forest 
trees, apparently good for many years of usefulness* 
which fall without a moment's warning, and without 
visible cause. Analagous to such a catastrophe in na- 
ture's domain, was the untimely taking away of Judge Ferriss. Strong 
and rugged for his years— and those borne lightly— the news that he 
had died suddenly from an attack of supposed apoplexy threw a pall of 
sorrow and sadness over all of his friends and acquaintances. A slight 
attack of indigestion had kept him indoors for a couple of days, but on 
the morning of his decease he had been out in the garden and about the 
house, and was more than ordinarily bright and cheerful. His wife and 
son were at the piano singing, and the Judge got ready to shave him- 
self, as he customarily did, and coming out of an adjoining room, to- 
wards the piano, sang with the others for a few minutes, then went 
back to his toilet. This was about 10 o'clock. Not long after- 
ward his son, Louis, walked by the door of his father's room and dis- 
covered him lying on the floor. Supposing the Judge had been 
attacked with dizziness his son tried to restore him to consciousness. 
Physicians were summoned, but to no avail. The vital spark had fled. 
On the arrival of Dr. Thomson the cause of death was pronounced as 
apoplexy, and death must have been practically instantaneous. The 
Judge had nearly finished shaving and dropped down to the floor when 
the fatal stroke came. 

One by one the old landmarks, in the persons of our oldest resi- 
dents, are being demolished by the rude iconoclast Death. The men and 
women who made the present populous and prosperous village possible, 
who nurtured and fostered it in its perilous infancy, are now inhabitants 
of that city not made with hands, in the Eternity beyond ; and should 



the ravages of the dread Destroyer be as great in the next half decade 
as they have been in the five years past, the names we know and love 
will be written on the stones of the silent city of the dead, and their 
places must be filled by strangers and aliens. The death of Judge Fer- 
riss removes one of our oldest and most respected citizens. He was a 
descendant of one of the original settlers of the place, and probably the 
oldest continuous resident of the village. Orange Ferriss was born in 
Glens Falls, November 26, 1814. He was a son of John Akin and Han- 
nah (Alden) Ferriss. 

The Ferriss family trace their genealogy back to Gualcheme de 
Feriers, armorer of William the Conquerer, whose son, Henry de Ferriers, 
was the first of the name of English birth. They were given large land 
grants by William, and many of the best families in England have been 
connected with this stock. Coming down through the de Ferriers the 
de Ferrers, Ferreis (or Ferris) and Ferrers, and other corruptions of the 
name, we finally come to John Ferriss, a native of Leicestershire, England, 
a holder of land in several counties of England, who emigrated, with his 
family, to Fairfield, Connecticut, and afterwards removed to New York 
State about 1654, dying in 1715. He was said to have been one of five 
brothers who emigrated to this country with their families, one of whom, 
JefTry, settled first in Massachusetts, in 1635, and then in Fairfield, Con- 
necticut, in 1660. The other brother, Benjamin, settled in Salem, Mass- 
achusetts, in 1640. John had a son Samuel, who came from Reading, 
England, to Groton, Massachusetts, afterwards removing to Charlestown, 
Massachusetts. He had a son Zachariah, who married Sarah Reed of 
Stafford, Connecticut, and removed to New Milford, Connecticut, about 
1711-12. He had a son Benjamin, born in 1708, who became a 
Quaker preacher, was married to Elizabeth Beecher, 1728, and removed 



to Pawling, Dutchess County, New York, about 1730. He had a son 
Reed, who v/as the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. 

This Reed Ferriss, tradition and history inform us, freely offered 
his home, known later as the " old Kirby house," to General Washing- 
ton for his use as headquarters of the commander-in-chief, at Pawling, 
New York. In Smith's History of Dutchess County we find the follow- 
ing: " The old ' Kirby ' house was built by Reed Ferriss in 1771, and 
at the time Washington was in Pawling was a new house. Mr. Ferriss 
was a substantial farmer, his house was like his means, large and ample ; 
it was then considered the biggest thing for miles around and towards 
which Washington naturally turned his steps. Mrs. Akin, mother of the 
late Judge Akin, and another lady, both of them daughters of Mr. Fer- 
riss, used to tell the story of its occupancy in this way : ' One day two 
aides-de-camp rode up to the door inquiring for Mr. F., informing him 
that Gen. Washington would like to make his home there for a while. 
Mr. Ferriss consented ; and to notify all intruders that this was the house 
of the commander-in-chief, the officers fastened a paper to the front 
door, reading thus, Headquarters of Gen. Washington. Mrs. Ferriss 
and the girls at once set themselves to preparing the best chamber for 
the General, second-best for staff officers ; and soon he arrived and was 
shown to the south chamber, evermore known as Washington's room.' 
Here he lived during his residence in Pawling." 

Reed Ferriss died at Quaker Hill, Dutchess County, in March, 1804, 
aged 74 years. According to Holden's History of Queensbury Reed 
Ferriss was an intimate friend of Abraham Wing, the founder of the 
town, and early became interested by purchase of a large tract in the 
Queensbury Patent, one of his lots lying on the eastern borders of the 
town. The outlet of the Big Cedar Swamp was called in the early maps 



and surveys, " Reed's Meadow Creek," after him. He had ten children, 
the eldest of whom, Edmund, married Molly, or Mary, Aiken, one of the 
noted patriotic families of Aikens or Akins, in Dutchess County. 

This Edmund was the grandfather of Orange, and died in 1822. 
He had several children, one of whom was John Akin Ferriss, who was 
born October 17, at the Oblong, in Dutchess County. 

A relative of the Judge furnishes the following regarding the Akin 
family : 

" The father of Judge Ferriss (John Akin Ferriss) was named from 
his mother's father, whose grandfather, David Akin, although an old 
man (born 1689, died 1779), had a record for good service in the Revo- 
lutionary war. David's father (the first John Akin) came from Scotland 
about I663, to Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Orange's paternal grand- 
mother was Molly Akin, daughter of the above John Akin first men- 
tioned. She was born in 1747 and died in 1775 ; she married in 1771 
Edmund Ferriss, son of Reed, whose house was occupied by Washing- 
ton as headquarters in Pawling. She had a brother, John Akin, Jr., 
who lived in Pawling in 1753-1810. He married, in 1775, Molly Fer- 
riss, daughter of Reed, thus showing two Molly Akins in the family, 
viz: Molly (Akin) Ferriss and Molly (Ferriss) Akin. The last men- 
tioned, daughter of Reed and grand-aunt of Judge Ferriss, was born in 
1759 and died in 1851 (some accounts have it 1854), aged 93 years. 
There is a note in the family records of Orange's brother (the late John 
Akin Ferriss of Troy, N. Y.) to the effect that this Molly (Ferriss) Akin 
was the heroine of a certain incident of the Revolution wherein it is 
related that Molly Akin, while in the camp of the British soldiers, evad- 
ing (or during the absence of) the officer and guard, loaded and fired a 



gun for the purpose and with the effect of warning the American army, 
and informing them of the location of their enemy. 

" Judge Ferriss had a sister Abigail Toffy, who married N. Edson 
Sheldon of Glens Falls. She was named from her grand-aunt, Abigail 
Akin, born 1749, who married John Toffy. Their grand-daughter, 
Olive, second cousin of Orange, married Admiral Worden, who as 
Lieut. Worden commanded the Monitor which destroyed the Merrimac 
at a crisis of the Rebellion." 

John A. Ferriss learned the trade of a hatter and moved to Glens 
Falls about 1 794. Soon after his arrival here he bought the lot just north 
of the present Ordway Memorial Building, on the back part of which he 
built a hat shop where he carried on business for a number of years. 
Subsequently he erected two one-story-and-a-half buildings on the site 
now occupied by DeLong & Sons and Coolidge & Bentley, where the 
same business was carried on by him as late as I838. Upper Glen 
Street was then known as Warren Street. He was a man of a great deal 
of energy, with progressive ideas, and did much toward developing and 
building up the little village of those days. In 1798 he erected and con- 
ducted as a tavern a wooden structure on the site now occupied by the 
residence of Frank Byrne, on Glen Street. In 1802 he commenced the 
old Glens Falls Hotel, on the present site of the Rockwell House, which 
he ran for some time. A year or so later he constructed a fish pond 
and water reservoir on the flat back of the Albert Vermilia building, 
Warren Street, and supplied it with water from the springs abundant in 
those days (and still in evidence up to the time the sewers were put in 
this last year) in the side hills on the south side of Warren Street. 
" This for a period," says Dr. Holden, " was one of the attractions and 
curiosities of the village." He also built the long wooden row about where 



the Keeffe, Mott and Holden buildings now are on Glen Street, which for 
so many years was known as the " Long; Row," the " Tontine," etc., 
and was burned down in 1856. In 1814 he constructed the first acad- 
emy in the place on the site now occupied by the Jerome Lapham resi- 
dence. It was presented by him to trustees, and was known as the Glens 
Falls High School. After many vicissitudes it was finally used by Jou- 
bert & White for the front part of their carriage shop, and has been en- 
tirely remodeled within the past few years. John Akin Ferriss was a 
man of prominence in the little village and town. He was the first post- 
master, served as supervisor several terms and as town clerk, and was 
president of the board of village trustees in 1839. Dr. Holden says: 
" h\r. Ferriss was a man of great liberality, contributing freely of his 
means and efforts to every worthy public enterprise." He seems to have 
been connected with all the efforts to better the conditions of the village 
and its citizens of those struggling days. Upright and moral in public 
and private life, he was respected and honored by all his acquaintances. 
He died at Glens Falls, September 8, 1840, and was buried at Moss 
Street. 

John Akin Ferriss was married first to Rachael Wing, second to Par- 
tbenia, daughter of Dr. Seth Alden of Shaftsbury, Vermont, and Cald- 
well, New York, about 1796. She died the next year, and for his third 
wife Mr. Ferriss married his wife's sister, Hannah Alden, who was born 
May 15, 1779, and died at the family homestead, November 5, 1865. 
To John A. and Hannah Alden were born five children — John Akin, Jr., 
who married Hannah Clock, Henry and Henrietta, twins, Abigail Toffy, 
who married N. Edson Sheldon, and Orange, the subject to this sketch. 

Judge Ferriss was a descendant but five times removed of John 
Alden of Puritan fame, a fact of which he was very proud. A relative 

10 



of the family has supplied us with this interesting information regarding 
the relationship : "Orange's mother was Hannah Alden, daughter of 
Dr. Seth Alden, who was called in consultation to attend the very sick 
daughter of Col. Ethan Allen, at Shaftsbury, Vermont. Letters between 
the old patriot and Dr. Alden with other papers of inestimable value to the 
historian were destroyed in the big fire of '64. Dr. Seth was the son of 
Seth, son of Jonathan, who was the son of Jonathan, fifth, or possibly 
tenth, child of the Hon. John Alden, secretary of the Plymouth colony, 
who came over on the Mayflower, and married Priscilla Moulins (or 
Mullins)." 

Hanging up in the hall of the late Judge Ferriss' residence on Glen 
Street is a document of interest to antiquarians. It is the appointment, 
made out in curious old-time legal verbiage, of Abigal Alden, relict of 
Capt. Jonathan Alden, as administratrix, &c, of the goods and chattels 
of said Jonathan Alden. It is dated at Plymouth, the 8th day of March, 
A.D. 1696-7, and is signed in a clear, legible hand by William Brad- 
ford, commissioner for the granting of probate of wills, &c, who, from 
the best knowledge the writer is at present able to obtain, must have 
been Major William Bradford, eldest son of the famous Governor of the 
Plymouth colony. The document is attested by Samuel Sprague as reg- 
ister. The Abigal Alden spoken of above was the wife of Jonathan Al- 
den, son of the Puritan John. The Judge thought a great deal of the 
document, and once laughingly said to the writer it was all the patent of 
nobility he possessed, or cared to. It will be seen, then, that through 
the blood of Judge Ferriss ran the Quaker and Puritan elements, inex- 
tricably mingled ; and it is from this sterling mixture that no doubt came 
that uprightness, integrity, honesty and force of character which marked 
him above his fellows. 



ii 



L.csC. 



The writer has often heard the Judge tell how he and his brother 
used to tramp a mile or so winter and summer to the old Quaker school - 
house on the ridge, where the rudiments of his education were learned 
and firmly imbedded. Afterward he studied at the old academy, founded 
by his father, to which we have already alluded. He took a college 
course at the University of Vermont, which granted him the honorary 
degree of A.M. in 1868. The Judge was endued with considerable elo- 
cutionary ability, and possessed of a quite distinct and evident sense of 
humor. It was no doubt these qualifications which led him as a young 
man to become a leading spirit in the amusements of the citizens of the 
village of I834. He was one of the founders and promoters of the 
" Glens Falls Thespian Association," which furnished entertainment for 
the community of those long-past days. But of this little band of choice 
and genial spirits scarcely one survives. " The rest ' sleep the sleep that 
knows not waking,' from which no prompter's bell or call-boy can re- 
call them to act their brief part on life's petty stage." 

About the year I838 Mr. Ferriss began the study of law in the 
office of the Hon. Wm, Hay, one of the brightest lawyers, most capable 
writers, and most competent historians this section ever produced. The 
office of Judge Hay was in the little brick building at the foot of Elm 
Street, used as an office of late years by the Wheeler & Wilson Machine 
agency, and destroyed in the Rugge factory fire the first part of 1 894. 
This, in I836, was one of the eight brick buildings of which the place 
boasted. Judge Ferriss had for his fellow students the late Alfred C. 
Farlin, Esq., Allen T. Wilson and A. W. Holden. In 1840 Mr. Ferriss 
was admitted to the bar, and the following year, '41, was appointed sur- 
rogate by Governor Seward, serving as such till 1845. He was Justice 
of the Peace here from I838 to 1841, and from 1845 to '48. He was 



12 



Inspector of Public Schools during" 1839-40. This was an office held by 
many of our best men, among the names familiar to the later generation 
being those of Wm. Hay, Ira Paddock, E. H. Rosekrans, George Rugge, 
N. Edson Sheldon and R. M. Little. He was Corporation Clerk in this 
village during the years 1839-40-41-42. Dec. 15th, 1839, he took a 
census of the then village, which showed the number of white inhabit- 
ants to be 1270 and colored, 19, making a total population of 1289. 
Contrast that with the census of 1880, when we had 4900, of 1890, 
when it was 9509, and the State enumeration of '92 which gives us 
nearly 500 more, and it will be seen the life of Judge Ferriss, like the 
thread in the woven fabric, has run in and out of the life of this place, 
until the history of the one almost involves the history of the other, so 
closely do they seem to be identified, so closely has the maturity of the 
man kept pace with the ripened progress of the village. 

In politics the Judge was strongly anti-democratic. At first he was 
an ardent Whig, and afterward as partisan a Republican. In 1845 this 
county was Democratic. The Judge ran for member of assembly on 
the Whig ticket against Winfield Scott Sherwood, another prominent 
young man of that day, who was a Democrat, but was defeated. In the 
old Glens Falls 'Republican of November 19, 1845, we find the canvass 
of that election. Sherwood received 1322 votes in the county, the Judge 
799. In the town, however, then divided into two districts (where now 
there are fourteen) Judge Ferriss polled 394 votes to his opponent's 279, 
showing the former's popularity at home. In the same paper we find 
the census of the State. Warren County then had a population of 14,- 
908, of which number 3372 were voters. In 1892 Warren County had 
a population of 28,479, and at the election last fall there were 6087 
votes cast for the state ticket and 5929 for member of assembly. Some 

13 



difference between the days when the Judge ran and the present. In 
1851 Judge Ferriss was elected county judge and surrogate (the two 
offices having been combined), being the only Whig elected on the 
ticket, his personal popularity carrying him through. He was re-elected 
to the same offices in 1855 and 1859, thus serving in the same capacity 
for twelve consecutive years, conclusive evidence that his services were 
satisfactory to his constituents. He was tendered, and refused, the office 
of provost-marshal for his congressional district (the 16th) in 1865, but 
the next year, 1 866, he was elected by a handsome majority to represent 
this same district in the House of Representatives, and was re-elected the 
succeeding term. He served with great distinction in these two bodies, 
being appointed and acting on the committees for the revision of laws, 
mines and mining, coinage and weights and measures. His speech 
against the purchase of Alaska, which attracted marked attention at the 
time, was in no narrowness of spirit, as may be seen by its closing lines : 

I am not one of those who believe our country is finished and ought to be in- 
closed. I believe in expansion and extension, not by reaching out to the extremity of 
the continent and taking under our protecting care and absorbing into our body- 
politic the most inharmonious, and if not the weakest, the most dangerous element 
to be found, but in that legitimate expansion required by an increased population or 
demanded by the exigencies of commerce. 

His speech on the impeachment of President Johnson was able, 
effective and earnest. As showing the deep-dyed Puritan principles to 
which the man clung to his life's end, we quote the following: 

The events of to-day mark an epoch in the history of our country. An apos- 
tate Executive, who has used the power of his high office to thwart the will of the peo- 
ple, whose perfidy had well-nigh rendered of no avail all the fruits of a terrible but suc- 
cessful civil war, has completed the full measure of his infamy by the deliberate vio- 
lation of a criminal statute in a last abortive attempt to absorb in himself all the 
powers of the Government. His defenders upon this floor remind us of incidents in 
English history. Are these happy reminders for their apostate chief ? It was Charles 

14 



the First, I believe, who quarreled with his Parliament because they opposed his un- 
lawful measures and exercised the privilege of voting for or opposing such measures 
as they saw fit. At the head of a handful of soldiers he marched to the Commons 
and demanded the surrender of Hampden and others, with the intent to try them for 
treason, simply because they opposed his outrageous and tyrannical policy. The end 
of Charles was speedy. He inaugurated civil war and died upon the scaffold. Some 
of the same race of men who dealt with the first Stuart came over in the Mayflower. 
They were the founders of constitutional liberty upon this continent. The institu- 
tions they established lie at the foundation of our Republican structure, and their 
descendants are the men— the hated Yankees— who led our armies in the rebellion 
against the representatives of the Cavaliers and Huguenots. Perhaps the President 
will attempt the role of the English King; men in confederate gray can be found to 
follow him. It is their arms that now uphold him and their voices plead for him, 
and a fawning sycophant, without character or capacity, might be found here and there 
wearing shoulder-straps who would obey executive mandates, whether legal or illegal, 
and whether issued in defense of the Government or to destroy it. With such sup- 
port is a coup d'etat advisable ? If he attempt it history will repeat itself. The great 
heart of the loyal people beats to the music of the Union, and it is in vain the organs 
of the Democracy attempt to inflame the public mind. 

The President's mouth-piece in this city calls upon the people " to rise in their 
might and majesty and eject the Goths and Vandals who have desecrated the temple 
of freedom with their foul deeds." Such ebullitions are the expjring throes of that 
false civilization whose corner-stone was slavery. These people have yet to learn 
that " this is a Government of the people for the people." The mission of the Repub- 
lican party is not yet ended. Slavery which had so long cursed our land, went down 
in the bloody conflict inaugurated by its worshipers to extend its area and perpetuate 
its existence. The chivalry will not believe it dead. They are like the Eastern prin- 
cess whose liege lord had died and was laid out in state : living, she loved him to 
adoration and would not believe him dead, but sat day by day watching his return to 
life, until the stench of the decaying corpse drove her away. These men are now 
watching over the carcase of slavery in the hope of resurrection— just when and how 
they do not know. They hope in vain. Its vitality has forever fled. Its rotting 
carcase pollutes the atmosphere, and the Democratic circle who were sincere and gen- 
uine mourners at its obsequies is fast receding, and the day is not far distant when 
none will be found so poor as to do honor to its memory. 

The contest in our country has been between republican ideas on one side and 
aristocracy on the other— the Pilgrims and the Cavaliers. Jamestown typifies the 
one and Plymouth rock the other. Weeds and thistles have overgrown the site of 
the first settlement on the banks of the James, but Plymouth rock remains; and 

15 



ages after the waves of the ocean shall have worn away the last vestige of that rock 
the free civilization and social ideas of New England shall be doing their work of 
Christianizing the races and inculcating a love for liberty which is as broad in its 
philanthropy as the universe, and knows no distinction of race or color. 

James G. Blaine in his " Twenty Years of Congress," in alluding 
to these " days which tried men's souls," speaks of the House " being 
strengthened by the advent of such men as Orange Ferriss," showing 
his worth was appreciated. 

On the passage of the act creating a board for ascertaining and 
determining the claims of loyal southerners for losses sustained during 
the rebellion, Judge Ferriss was one of the commissioners appointed 
under the act by President Grant. Judge Ferriss devoted to the task, 
laborious, trying and difficult as it was, his best energies, and was re -ap- 
pointed in 1873 for four years, gratifying and complimentary testimonial 
to his integrity and incorruptibility. In striking contrast with the con- 
duct of so many public officials of the post-bellum days, and even of the 
ways of the " statesmen " of to-day, the subject of this sketch, upheld 
by his Quaker- Puritan honesty, lived an incorruptible life, and came 
out no richer than he went in to politics, perhaps poorer pecuniarily, al- 
though he was in a situation to have made a great fortune while on the 
claims commission. In this regard Dr. Holden says of him : " During a 
long public life, and the fierce collisions of hot partisan strife, Judge Fer- 
riss has retained an unwonted popularity, and the good-will, respect and 
esteem of all parties and shades of political opinion. Like Caesar's wife, 
he is above suspicion, and in a corrupt age, and surrounded by demor- 
alizing partisan influences, he has escaped from the seething cauldron of 
political contamination with clean hands and a pure heart." 

Having finished up his labors on the Southern Claims commission 

16 



he was appointed Second Auditor of the Treasury by President Hayes. 
He held this position through the administrations of Garfield and Arthur, 
and of his own accord resigned on the accession of President Cleveland 
in '84, stating in substance that he believed that places of trust should 
be filled by those in sympathy with the administration. Judge Ferriss 
then returned home, and has since continued to enjoy a respite from his 
nearly twenty years of official labors, till death came to him. During 
all these years he had always considered Glens Falls his home, ever com- 
ing home to vote ; he had never missed a presidential election since 1836. 
Since he was sixteen years old he had always taken a summer excursion 
to Lake George where he went to camp and enjoy the communion with 
nature and nature's God. He was fond of out-door sports, hunting, 
fishing and tramping, and could fag out many a younger man in a day's 
jaunt. According to a newspaper sketch by Dr. Holden, in I838 or '39, 
there was a jumping contest on the site now covered by the Glens Falls 
bank. He says : " the competitors jumped well, but ' Link ' achieved a 
triumph by clearing 18 feet on the level without weights." The 
strength displayed in those younger days was not squandered or dissi- 
pated, and, to the day of his death, Judge Ferriss was as hale, hearty 
and well a man, and apparently good for as many years more of use- 
fulness, as one ordinarily sees. He was one of the founders (now nearly 
all gone) of the famous Cold Water Club which has camped on Glen 
Island in Lake George for so many years, and was its president at the 
time of his death. A photograph recently displayed in a Glen Street store 
represents this club in session at the Lake. At a table sits J. C. Clark, 
Jerome Lapham, Zabina Ellis and Orange Ferriss playing cards. Look- 
ing on are Newton Locke, Wm, McEchron, B. F. Lapham, F. A. John- 
son and Arch. Whipple. The picture must have been taken some years 

17 



since, for, one by one, the members of the group have taken their final 
departure from life's scenes, and of all the number to-day but three sur- 
vive. Judge Ferriss was a director of the Glens Falls Insurance Com- 
pany, and one of its building and executive committees. He was one of 
the original vestrymen of the Church of the Messiah, serving as such 
during the years 1840-41, from 1860 to '67 inclusive, and was again 
chosen as a member of the vestry in 1893, an d re-elected in March of 
this year. He was the last survivor of the charter members of Senate 
lodge, No. 456, F. & A. M., of which organization he was the first senior 
warden. 

In a " Historical Sketch of the Newspaper Press of Warren County," 
published just before the war, Dr. Holden speaks of the starting of the 
Glens Falls Gazette in I839 as the organ of the Whig party the old 
Glens Falls Spectator, then published by Zabina Ellis, being the Demo- 
cratic paper. He says : " For the first time in our history, two papers 
were published contemporaneously, and both began to assume that active 
partisan character which has ever since distinguished the press of our 
county. About this time, too, there sprang up a corps of newspaper cor- 
respondents that to a greater or less extent, constantly kept the papers 
supplied with contributions and original matter. Among their number 
may be mentioned the names of Henry Parsons, Orange Ferriss, Ira A. 
Perrin, W. S. Sherwood, George Spencer, A. T. Wilson, Warren Fox, 
A. E. Bovee and J. L. Stoddard. It was these spirits that sustained our 
Lyceums and fostered a taste for literature and learning that seems to 
have sadly depreciated in these days." It was no wonder then, that the 
Judge, when he finally took up his home life here again, with the recol- 
lection of earlier days, with an inborn love of, and high regard for, liter- 
ary and forensic attainments, should become a warm 'supporter of, and 

18 



constant attendant upon, the meetings of the Glens Falls Lyceum of these 
" fin de siecle " days. He gave before, it two excellent papers, one on 
" Civil Service," the other, not many months before his decease, on " The 
Constitution of the United States." He also gave an interesting talk at 
one of the annual banquets of the society. His last conversation with 
his neighbor and friend, Hon. A. B. Abbott, was a few moments before 
he died, and was about the paper read the night before at the Lyceum, 
the only one he had missed. They discussed several papers that had 
been read and almost the last words of the Judge were most emphatically 
denying, disproving and rebuking the statement in a paper that the 
Christian religion was a hindrance to the progress of modern science. 
He denied the truth of the statement, and said no man had any business 
to make such a claim before such an audience. Of strong convictions, 
earnest of purpose, high minded in his ideals, Judge Ferriss must have 
passed to his reward, with the consciousness of a life well-spent, and a 
clear conscience toward his God and fellow-men. 

He was twice married, first to Amelia Martin, at Glens Falls, June 
22, 1853- They had one daughter, Amelia Hannah, born May 15, 1854. 
His wife died September 7, 1854, and, as we are informed, was the first 
person to be buried in the then new cemetery on Bay Street. His daugh- 
ter was married November 10, 1881, to Edgar Laing Laing, and died at 
San Antonio, Texas, March 10, 1888. The death of his daughter, was 
a severe blow to the Judge, and affected him seriously, he and his wife 
traveling for months in the south and Mexico in search of health and 
renewed strength. The great love of his home and its surroundings had 
evidently been transmitted to his daughter, for in her last days she said, 
" one breath of Warren County air, one glimpse of Lake George would 
restore me." But alas, it was not to be. The Judge married for his 

19 



second wife, Cornelia Wing Carpenter, a lineal descendant of the pioneer 
and founder of the village and town, Abraham Wing. The date of the 
marriage was May 22, i860, the ceremony being performed at Glens Falls, 
by the Rev. H. H. Bates. They had one son, Louis Duane, who with his 
mother survive to mourn their irreversible affliction. 

The funeral services for the deceased were held on Saturday, April 
14. The remains lay in state at the family residence, 202 Glen Street, 
from 9:30 A.M. to 1 P.M., and the last respects to the dead were paid 
by many not only from this village, but from out of town. There were 
a number of handsome floral offerings, among them being a cross and 
anchor from the Cold Water Club. At 1:45 there was a service of 
prayer at the house. At two o'clock the body was borne to the Church 
of the Messiah, opposite, by four actual bearers, the honorary pall-bearers 
being Hon. Jerome Lapham, Hon. A. B. Abbott, J. L. Cunningham, 
William A. Wait, B. F. Lapham, George Pardo, Isaac Mott and William 
Cronkhite. The service at the church was conducted by the rector, 
Rev. F. M. Cookson, assisted by the Rev. E. R. Armstrong of Lake 
George. The surpliced choir, under the leadership of Chorister C. J. 
McGill, rendered the hymns " Lead Kindly Light," " In the Hour of 
Trial " and " Sweet Saviour Bless us ere we Go." There was no eulogy 
or address, simply the beautiful and expressive Episcopal burial service. 
The church was well filled with the friends of the deceased. The officers, 
directors and employees of the Glens Falls Insurance Company, the mem- 
bers of the church vestry, the Cold Water Club, and representatives of 
the Warren and Washington County bars, attended the services in a 
body. The remains were taken to the Bay Street Cemetery and depos- 
ited in the family plot, with the usual interment ceremony. In charac- 
terizing the life of Judge Ferriss the writer would use the same words he 



30 



did in an obituary in the Morning Star at the time of the Judge's death : 
" He was interested in all that pertains to the welfare and advancement of 
this place, conservative and yet progressive, a safe counselor, a good friend, 
a wise, companionable man. He was intolerant of all that smacked of 
bigotry, untruthfulness, untrustworthiness or deceit. Exemplary in 
private life, upright and honorable in his business and social relations, he 
was revered and esteemed by all who knew him. A strong partisan, and 
yet courteous to those who opposed him, strong minded, possessed of 
sound practical common sense, able and efficient in his chosen profession, 
superior in executive ability, and capable of carrying out his official 
duties in a satisfactory manner, Judge Ferriss filled his place in the world 
as few men could, and passes from this earthly scene, leaving behind 
him an admirable record as a man, a churchman and a public official, be- 
queathing to posterity a spotless name and a life to pattern by.'' 
And so, full of years and honors he left this earth, 

" Life's labor done, 
Serenely to his final rest he passed ; 
While the soft memories of his virtues yet 
Linger, like twilight hues, when the 
Bright sun has set." 

Glens Falls, N. Y., J. A. H. 

August 15, 1894. 

Note — The writer is indebted to Mr. George D. Ferriss, of West Troy, nephew 
of the deceased, for valuable information regarding the Ferriss, Akin and Alden 
families. 



Bs ©tbers Saw Ibitru 

The following extracts from various newspaper articles, which ap- 
peared at the time of Judge Ferriss' death, will show the high estimation 
in which he was held by those who knew him : 

Mr. Ferriss was an active churchman, taking the liveliest interest in the promotion 
of the cause of religion and cheering on by kindly advice and the example of his life 
those whom he knew to be struggling toward a better existence. A good and safe 
lawyer, an impartial and honest judge, a faithful and painstaking executive, a consist- 
ent, true and loyal friend, a genial and generous companion, admired most by those 
who knew him best, he who has been so suddenly called to his final reward lived a 
life without a stain, and a character without a blemish. He will be sorely missed by 
the people of the village, which was his birthplace and for so many years of a long and 
honorable life his home, perhaps more than any other man. The personal and polit- 
ical friends will miss him because his acts were always consistent and his word the 
seal of truth. His neighbors will miss him, for he was the embodiment of kindness. 
The village will miss him, because in all matters affecting the public good his counsel 
and advice could be relied upon as conservative, conscientious and wise. He leaves 
behind the noblest monument which can survive a good man — the example of an 
honest, worthy and useful life, in which he was true to his God, his country and his 
friends, faithful at home and trusted abroad. 

A widow and one son, Louis D., survive, to whom the heartfelt sympathy of 
the village will go out in their sudden and dire affliction. — [Rev. F. M. Cookson, in 
Glens Falls Daily Times.'] 

Wednesday, April 11, at his residence, 202 Glen Street, Hon. Orange Ferriss, aged sev- 
enty-nine years. 

The above announcement reveals but little to the outside public. The deceased 
had been part and parcel of the history-making days of our nation. A man whose 
sagacity and unswerving loyalty had placed him shoulder to shoulder with Lincoln, 
Seward and Stanton. Modest and peculiarly reticent was he, unless his latent forces 
were called into activity. 

A brief resume of the life of Hon. Orange Ferriss embodies not alone a local 
interest, but one covering our nation's history, from the northern line of Maine to 
the Rio Grande. 

Hon. Orange Ferriss was born in Glens Falls, November 26, 1814. The names of 
his father and mother, John A. and Hannah Alden Ferriss, were as well known in Glens 



Falls as was the Hudson River. His early education was of the common school order 
of his early years, and was received at the academy of those days on Ridge Street, on 
the west side, just south of Maple Street. Later he graduated with distinction from 
the University of Vermont. Following closely upon his graduation, Mr. Ferriss pros- 
ecuted the study of law with Hon. William Hay, and was admitted to the bar in 
1840. This profession he followed for many years, although official position raised 
him from the drudgery of his profession at various times. That his talent and force 
of character were of a superior nature is evidenced by the appreciation in which he 
was held at our national capitol. His official history is one of dignity, and wisely did 
Mr. Ferriss execute the duties imposed upon him. 

In 1841 Mr. Ferriss was appointed surrogate of this county and served four years. 
In 1850 he was elected county judge and surrogate. Re-election followed in 1855, 
and again did he receive a re-election in 1859, a consecutive service of twelve years. 
During the troublous days accompanying the waning of the great rebellion, Mr. 
Ferriss was appointed, in 1865, as provost-marshal of this sixteenth congressional 
district. This position the deceased declined. Commencing with 1866, Mr. Ferriss 
entered upon a congressional career, which continued, through re-election, over two 
consecutive terms, embracing those delicate times when the tangled threads of the 
warp and woof of the great rebellion were being picked and wound up upon the 
solidified spool of a restored republic. In 1871 President Grant appointed Mr. Ferriss 
as commissioner of the court of claims, receiving re-appointment in 1873 for a term 
of four years. In 1880 the deceased received the appointment of second auditor of 
the treasury. This position he filled until the inauguration of President Cleveland, 
when Mr. Ferriss was removed. Thereafter the deceased returned to his home in 
Glens Falls and entered upon a quiet life to which his arduous public services entitled 
him. 

Mr. Ferriss was a vestryman of the Church of the Messiah, and one of the direct- 
ors of the Glens Falls Insurance Company. The deceased was a skilled angler, 
and the camping parties upon Lake George, of which he was one, were always mat- 
ters of enjoyment. Those of his immediate family who survive him are his widow 
and son, Louis D. — [Contributor to Glens Falls Sunday News.] 

The numerous friends and acquaintances in this city of Hon. Orange Ferriss, of 
Glens Falls, N. Y., learned with great regret that he died suddenly from an attack of 
apoplexy, at his home, on the llth instant. It was only very recently that Judge 
Ferriss and his wife were here for a brief visit with the family of the late ex-Chief Jus- 
tice Waite, and he was then looking unusually well and vigorous. He was born in No- 
vember, 1814, and was a regular lineal descendant of John Alden, of the old Puritan 
stock. He had held many important and responsible public positions, and uniformly 

23 



discharged all his duties with unswerving fidelity and satisfaction to all with whom 
he was associated. He was continuously in public life here at Washington as a Mem- 
ber of Congress, Judge of the Southern Claims Commission, and Second Auditor of 
the Treasury, from 1866 to 1885 — almost twenty years. His genial humor, his manly, 
straightforward ways, his keen sense of truth and justice, his love for all that was 
pure, grand, and noble, and his scorn and contempt for all shams, deceit, and untruth- 
fulness, were some of his most marked characteristics. — [From Washington.] 

On Wednesday morning, Aprill 11, at his residence in Glens Falls, N. Y., Judge. 
Orange Ferriss died suddenly. He was nearly 80 years of age and up to the day of his 
death was as active as a man of half his years. Judge Ferriss, a lineal descendant of 
John Alden, four times removed, possessed the upright, honest and sturdy character- 
istics of his Puritan and Quaker ancestors. Much of his life was spent as a public 
man, as judge of his native county for twelve years, four years in Congress, six years 
as Commissioner of the Court of Southern Claims, and six years as auditor of the 
U. S. Treasury. A few years ago Judge Ferriss and 1 were stormbound for an entire 
day on an island in Lake George while trolling for trout in May, and he said that dur- 
ing fifty odd years he had spent a part of each season at Lake George, fishing in its 
waters and shooting on its shores. He recalled that he was once similarly stormbound 
with my father when they were camping together, probably before I was born. 

Judge Ferriss was president of the Glen Club at the time of his death, an organ- 
ization that has occupied an island in Lake George with permanent cottage for a 
camp for nearly thirty years, and it is to Judge Ferriss and another member of the 
club, Mr. Frank Lapham, that we are indebted for the largest small-mouth black bass 
in the world. In 1886 these two men, as they were breaking camp at Glen Island, 
caught a number of little black bass from Lake George and put them in a bait bucket 
and later in the day planted thirteen of the fish that were alive and active, in the inlet 
to Long Pond, now called Glen Lake. The thirteen little bass stocked the pond and 
from it have since been taken small-mouthed black bass weighing 10 lbs. 

To his out of door life as a sportsman Judge Ferriss ascribed his rugged health 
for four score years. Within ten days of his death he said to a fellow director of the 
Glens Falls Insurance Company that he had never been sick, and he never would be 
but once, and then it would be a brief illness ; and his life came to a close, full of 
years and honors, as he had predicted. — [A. N. Cheney in Forest and Stream.] 



24 



IResolutions of IRespect 

We give below a number of tributes to the memory of the de- 
ceased : 

At a special meeting of the board of directors of the Glens Falls Insurance Com- 
pany, this resolution was adopted : 

In the sudden death of Hon. Orange Ferriss Wednesday morning, this board suf- 
fers the loss of an honored member, and his survivors an esteemed associate. In his 
valued service as director for many years, and for some time as one of our executive 
committee, Judge Ferriss has faithfully, intelligently and efficiently promoted the best 
interests of this company as measured by that high sense of probity, integrity and 
righteousness which so markedly distinguished his public and private life. 

With a worthy pride in the company's growth and prosperity, and a firm faith 
in its future, he always advocated and maintained whatever promised to minister to 
its fair fame, honor and perpetuity. 

His large, long and honorable experience in local and national official affairs, and 
his conscientious regard for every trust confided to him, gave excellent quality to his 
directorship and a peculiar value to his service of the company in which he was so 
greatly interested. He was a sincere man ; a devoted and generous friend ; a reliable 
citizen ; a genial companion, and an uncorruptible official. 

It is directed that the flag be floated at half-mast upon the company's building; 
that this board attend the funeral in a body ; that this minute be entered upon the 
record of the proceedings of the board, and that a copy be delivered to the bereaved 
family with our sincere sympathy. 

Senate XoDge. 

The members of Senate lodge, No. 456 F. and A. M., unanimously adopted and 
ordered spread upon the lodge records this minute: 

During the week that has just passed, the final link that connected us with the 
early days of our lodge has been broken. Orange Ferriss, our first senior warden, the 
second brother to inscribe his name upon our lodge register, the last survivor of our 
charter members, has reached the east gate of this earthly temple and gone on, out- 
ward and upward, to the land of eternal sunshine and eternal rest. Full of years and 
of honor, he left no unfinished designs upon his trestle board, but by his faithfulness, 
ability and integrity earned the right to have his name inscribed upon the memories 
of his brethern and townsfolk as the name of a skillful workman. Although in his 
later life he ceased to be an active laborer among us, yet we know from his own words 
that even to the very threshold of the existence upon which he has now entered, he 

25 



retained a loving pride in the edifice erected upon the foundation that he helped to lay 
thirty-five years ago. To his widow and to his son, our brother, we extend our 
most sincere sympathy. Their loss and their grief are greater and deeper than ours, 
but to them, as to us, we trust there is consolation in the thought that he who has gone, 
in his youth industriously occupied his mind in the attainment of useful knowledge; 
in his manhood applied his knowledge to the discharge of his duties to God, his 
neighbor and himself, and in his age enjoyed the happy reflections consequent on a 
well spent life, and died in the hope of a glorious immortality. 

Gburcb of tbe jflfoessfab. 

At a meeting of the vestry of the Church of the Messiah, held May 10th, the fol- 
lowing minute of respect was unanimously adopted, and ordered placed on the church 
records : 

At their first meeting after the death of their honored and trusted friend and 
associate, Judge Orange Ferriss, the rector, wardens and vestrymen of the Church of 
the Messiah would record the deep sense of their loss in his calling away from earth 
to the paradise of God. 

Re-elected a vestryman at Eastertide, 1893, to fill one of the first vacancies accru- 
ing after his return from important public service at Washington to live among us 
again, he was a connecting link with the first days of the parish. 

He was one of the incorporators of the parish, on February 24, 1840, and a wit- 
ness to the act of incorporation ; a member of the first vestry, and again a vestry- 
man in 1841, and from i860 to 1867, the time of his leaving home for congress as a 
representative. 

In 1859 he was a delegate to the diocesan convention held in New York, and was 
re-elected in 1893 to serve in the same important office at the convention held in 
Albany. 

He was one of the building committee who had charge of the construction of our 
present beautiful church, in which he always took great pride. 

We of this day in the vestry know with what promptness and faithfulness and 
thoroughness he took up again the work of a vestryman. 

We remember his readiness to perform any service asked of him, even if one 
which a younger man might excuse himself from. 

We remember his courage and zeal and liberal giving in the interests of the 
church. 

The soul of honor, a man of unblemished character in the discharge of every 
duty and in every station, we rejoice in having had him with us in our councils in 
the evening of his life, and are grateful for the memory of his past association with 
the parish. 

26 



Bction of tbe :©ar. 

A meeting of the members of the Glens Falls bar was held April 13 at the parlors 
of the Glens Falls Club to take action on the death of Hon. Orange Ferriss. D. F. 
Keeffe was elected chairman and C. F. King secretary. 

Upon motion of E. L. Stearns, it was decided that the bar of the county meet at 
the Rockwell House and attend the funeral of Mr. Ferriss in a body, and that the sec- 
retary be directed to extend a general invitation, through the local press, to the 
members of the bar of the neighboring villages of Sandy Hill and Fort Edward to 
join with them. 

On motion of T. W. McArthur, E. R. Safford was made a committee to perfect 
the arrangements for attending the funeral. 

Upon motion of Adam Armstrong, Jr., a committee of six, including the chair- 
man, Judge Brown, Judge Cheritree, Isaac Mott, Col. J. L. Cunningham, of Glens 
Falls, and Thomas Cunningham, of Warrensburgh, was appointed to prepare and 
submit, at the next term of court, suitable and proper resolutions and to make all 
necessary arrangements for a testimonial of respect for the deceased. — [Star, April 14.] 

Just before the adjournment of court in Caldwell, Monday evening, Judge 
Brown, in behalf of the committee of the Warren County bar, presented the follow- 
ing minute and resolution : 

May it please the court : The Hon. Orange Ferriss died at his residence in Glens 
Falls, on the eleventh day of April, 1894, at the age of seventy-nine years. 

At a meeting of the members of the bar of this county the undersigned were 
selected to present to this court at this term appropriate resolutions expressing their 
high appreciation of the character and public services of the deceased. 

For about twenty-eight years ending with the year 1868 Judge Ferriss was 
engaged in the active profession of a counselor at law in this county. 

From January l, 1852, to January 1, 1864, a period of twelve years, he was county 
judge of this county. 

Subsequently he was elected member of congress from this district. He after- 
wards served a term as commissioner of southern claims at Washington, and subse- 
quently received an appointment in the treasury department of the United States. 

At the close of his large and lucrative practice of law, he had justly earned what 
was the universal judgment of the people, that he had been an able, intelligent) 
upright and honest lawyer. 

His judicial services, and indeed all the public services he was called upon to 
perform, were characterized by the same ability, intelligence, uprightness and in- 
tegrity. 

27 



His duties in every station of life, public or private, were well and honestly 
performed. 

What higher encomium could be pronounced upon the life of any man. 
The committee therefore offer and present the following resolution : 
Resolved, That in the death of Judge Ferriss the bar of the county, as well as the 
community at large, have lost a valued and respected member ; one who has per- 
formed the duties of life nobly and with honor, and one who, by the integrity, purity 
and earnestness of his life, has left an example worthy of our respect and emulation. 

We ask that this preamble and resolution may be entered upon the minutes of 
this court. — June 11, 1894. 

A. J. Cheritree, 
S. Brown, 
J. L. Cunningham, 
D. F. Keeffe, 
isaac mott, 
Thomas Cunningham, 

Committee. 
After reading the foregoing, Judge Brown paid a further tribute to the mem- 
ory of Mr. Ferriss. The minute and resolution were made a part of the court 
records.— [Star, June 13.] 



28 



jEypressions of Condolence. 

From a large number of expressions of sorrow and sympathy re- 
ceived by the family, have been taken a few, as evidencing the univer- 
sal regret felt by his friends and acquaintances on the untimely decease 
of Judge Ferriss. The greater number are of too personal a character 
to admit of publication. 

Telegram from Senator Morrill, of Vermont. 

Washington, D. C, April 12, 1894. 
(Mrs. Orange Ferriss : 

Be sure that you have our love and sympathy in your great loss. 

Justin S. Morrill. 

Telegram from Senator Sherman, of Ohio. 

Washington, D. C, April 15, 1894. 

{Mrs. Orange Ferriss : 

I sincerely sympathize with you in the great loss of your husband, for whom I 
entertained the highest respect. 

John Sherman. 

Telegram from J. W. Finch. 

New York, April 12, 1894. 
(Mrs. Orange Ferriss : 

Permit me to offer you our most sincere sympathy in these severe afflictions you 
have been called to suffer. 

J. W. Finch. 

From Judge Bentley, of Colorado. 

Denver, Col., April 12, 1894. 
(My dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

We were greatly shocked to hear of the unexpected death of Judge Ferriss. Mrs. 
Bentley and I join in expressing our sincerest sympathy in your bereavement. 

As for myself personally, I can never forget his warm interest in my welfare and 
uniform kindness towards me for now more than forty years — since the time I en- 
tered his office as a law student. Very sincerely yours, 

J. A. Bentley. 

29 



From Hon. W. Strong, Ex-Justice U. S. Supreme Court. 

Washington, D. C, April 13, 1894. 
My dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

I have been greatly shocked by the death of your husband. He looked so well 
when 1 lately saw him, and said his health was so perfect, that I can hardly realize that 
he has gone. But you, I mourn for and with you. I beg you to accept my assurance 
of my warmest sympathy. May our merciful God comfort you as He only can. 

With warmest regards, 

Yours very truly, 

W. Strong. 

From Hon. John A. Peters, Judge Supreme Court of Maine. 

Bangor, Me., April 16, 1894. 
My dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

Mrs. Peters and myself were much pained on receiving a Glens Falls newspaper 
to learn of the death of 'your beloved husband. It revives with us many memories. 
I felt very near your husband when we were sojourners together in Washington, and 
enjoyed his society very much. How many times have I thought that it would be an 
exceeding pleasure to meet him again. But, alas, we take no note of time until some 
event of a serious character impresses us. We shall always recollect our old associa- 
tions as among the pleasant memories of our life ; and we wish to extend to you our 
sincerest condolence in your loss of a most kind, noble and honored husband. 

Most sincerely yours, 

John A. Peters. 

From James L. Andem, Pres. Ohio Phonograph Co. 

Cincinnati, Ohio, April' 14, 1894. 
Dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

I believe that Judge Ferriss had a strong feeling of personal regard for myself, 
the outgrowth of about nine years' association with him, officially, in Washington, 
and I know that he has always had my highest esteem and affection from the time I 
had opportunity to become acquainted with his many sterling traits of character. 
His sympathies were always in favor of the right, and nothing could arouse his indig- 
nation more quickly than an attempt to do injustice towards the individual or the 
government. I never knew anyone who would respond more readily than he when 
he believed that justice required his interposition on behalf of the injured party. 

Please accept my sincere sympathy in your great affliction, and these few words 
of tribute to one of the best friends I ever had. 

Very respectfully, 

James L. Andem. 

3° 



From C. F. Benjamin, formerly Chief Clerk Southern Claims Commission. 

Washington, D. C, April 12, 1894. 
Dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

The news of the death of Judge Ferriss is a great shock to me. He was a good 

man, through and through. So I judged him in 1871 and the judgment lasted to the 

end. Heaven's mercy and peace be with him and with you. 

Sincerely yours, 

Chas. F. Benjamin. 

From Bishop Doane. 

Albany, N. Y., April 14, 1894. 
(My dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

Someone has sent me a copy of a Glens Falls paper telling me of the sudden tak- 
ing away of your dear husband, who has been for so many years my kind and gra- 
cious friend. I grieve greatly for you in this bereavement, the suddenness of which 
adds in a way to its sorrow, if anything can add to such a sorrow, and I want you 
to know that I shall think of you and your dear boy with abundant sympathy, and 
shall hope to be able to say so to you when I come to Glens Falls, where I shall miss 
the sight of his kindly face and the warmth of his gracious greeting. I am thankful 
for you that you have the comfort of such memories and such hopes as belong to 
such a life. Believe me always 

Faithfully your Bishop and friend, 

W. C. Doane. 

From Hon. Adolph Sutro, of California. 

Sutro Heights, San Francisco, Cal., April 28, 1894. 
CMy dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

I need hardly tell you that I was very much shocked when I received the Glens 
Falls paper containing the " obituary of Judge Ferriss." 

In the ten winters I spent in Washington, where I became acquainted with nearly 
all the Members of Congress and Senators, I cannot think of anyone who stood higher 
in my estimation than Judge Ferriss. Surrounded by temptation and political cor- 
ruption, he always stood the honest and honorable man, ready to defend what was 
right, and to defeat what was wrong; and well do I recollect when I got into the fierce 
struggle in the House of Representatives, how truly he stood by me, and never fal- 
tered, though my opponents were fierce and unscrupulous in their onslaught. 

With many kind regards to yourself and son, I am 

Yours sincerely, 

Adolph Sutro. 

31 



From Rev. Edwin E. Butler, formerly Rector Church of the Messiah. 

Madison, N. J., April 12, 1894. 
My Dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

The announcement in the paper this morning of the sudden taking away of your 
dear husband makes it impossible for me to refrain from writing to you, so closely 
were you and he bound up with the earliest thoughts and experiences of my ministry. 
Whenever the early years of my ministerial life come before my eyes as I look back 
into the past, I see, more distinctly than any other, those two kindly faces, that so 
unfailingly cheered and comforted me as I was passing through the immaturity of 
my professional course. It is not to be wondered at, then, that I have never quite 
lost the feeling of the old parochial relation, and that when I learned this morning 
that one of those faces I should see no more, I suffered a pain as when one very near 
to me has passed away. 

I beg you to accept these few words which would convey, if they could, my 
sympathy for your sorrow and loneliness of heart, and I can only express the hope 
that the kind Father, to whom your husband has returned, will give you all the 
strength you need. 

Mrs. Butler wishes me to assure you of her deep sympathy. 

With kindest regards to your son, believe me, 

Sincerely yours, 

Edwin E. Butler. 

From the widow and daughter of the late ex-Chief Justice Waite. 

Washington, D. C, April 12, 1894. 
(My dear, dear friend: 

Such a shock as came to us this morning, when reading the telegraphs in the 
Tost. We feel that we have lost one very near and dear to us, and oh ! how our 
hearts go out to you and Louis. God help and keep you both. We can mourn with 
you, for we too loved him. Mother joins me in all this and says, " It did me good 
to read of how the good man was appreciated among those who knew him best. 
They could not, however, do full justice to him. Words would fail them. He was 
everything that was good in both public and private life. I honored and loved him 
— shall miss him." 

Believe us ever faithfully your friends, 

Amelia Waite. 
Mary F. Waite. 



32 



From Rev. B. J. Davis, Rector Trinity Church, Easton, Pa. 

Trinity Rectory, Easton, Pa., April 16, 1894. 
My Dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

I received a copy of the Glens Falls Times this morning announcing the death of 
your husband. I had learned of your loss two or three days before, in one of the 
Easton papers. I can never forget the pleasant hours 1 spent at your house, when you 
were in Easton. There was no place where I felt more sure of a welcome, no place 
where I felt more at home. 

When a man comes into a new parish where all are strangers, in the first few 
months of his ministry he appreciates a home of this kind. Knowing as I do, by 
personal experience, the happiness of your home, I can assure you that I feel deeply 
the loss which you and your son have sustained. I think, though, that there is much 
that we all have to be thankful for in the life of a man like Mr. Ferriss. His days 
were long, honorable and useful. He served the town in which he was born and 
which he loved so well ; he served his state, the nation and the church. I am sure 
that he has left the world better for his having lived in it, and has now heard the 
words, " Well done, good and faithful servant," and entered upon his reward. May 
God bless you and yours and grant you His comfort and peace. 

Faithfully yours, 

B. J. Davis. 

From George H. Batcheller, ex-Minister to Portugal. 

Paris, No. 7 Rue Scribe, 21st May, 1894. 
Dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

On my return from Rome and Vienna a few days since I received a paper con- 
taining the announcement of the death of my good friend, your beloved husband, 
Judge Ferriss. 

I had seen the announcement of Judge Ferriss' death in the New York papers 
while in Rome. Indeed the announcement was cabled to the Paris edition of the New 
York Herald with a brief sketch of his distinguished public career. It has fallen to 
the lot of but few men in America to occupy, during so many years, such high and 
honorable official positions, and it must be a great comfort to you, as it ever will be 
to your son, that in all this extended career there is nothing except great honor and 
ability to signalize its history. It is a record of which you both may be justly proud. 

With warmest sentiments of sympathy and friendship, I remain 

Very sincerely yours, 

George H. Batcheller. 

33 



From the daughter of General Sherman. 

New York, April 20, 1894. 
T)ear {Mrs. Ferriss : 

I heard with the deepest regret of your sad bereavement. With a heart full of 
sympathy I am, dear Mrs. Ferriss, 

Affectionately yours, 

Lizzie Sherman. 

From the widow of Hannibal Hamlin. 

Washington, D. C, May 5, 1894. 
CMy dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

Ever since I learned of the great sorrow that has come to you, I have wanted to 
send you a word of sympathy. My dear friend, I know so well this overwhelming 
sorrow that I feel as though I ought, too, to know how to comfort you. Perhaps it 
is because I know it so well that I dare not try. To me it was a great comfort that 
my dear husband, like yours, went from us with no days of suffering ; that almost to 
his last hour he was well and happy. He had so often expressed the wish to go in 
this way that I felt very thankful it was granted. 

Let us hope, dear Mrs. Ferriss, that though these loved ones of ours have gone 
from us, it is not forever, — that before very long we shall rejoin them in " The Better 
Land." With love and deepest sympathy, 

Your affectionate friend, 

Ellen V. Hamlin. 



From the wife of Admiral Lee. 

Silver Spring, April 16, 1894. 
My dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

The (Morning Star brought me a sorrow in the announcement of the death of 
your noble husband. Such an admirable example must fill your heart with an hon- 
orable pride that, added to faith and time, will, I hope, help to comfort you and 
guide your son. 

God bless, keep and comfort you both, is the earnest prayer of your friend, 

E. B. Lee. 

My husband desires me to give you his heartfelt sympathy and kindest regards. 

34 



From the wife of Senator Morrill. 

Washington, D. C, April 18, 1894. 
My dear, dear friend : 

Words cannot express the personal sorrow the sudden death of dear Mr. Ferriss 
caused each one of us. We were at the breakfast table when Mr. Morrill read the 
notice of his departure. The shock was very great to us. We thought of him as he 
was when here, apparently in perfect health, full of energy, and showing no advance in 
age, and we could not realize we had bidden him a last farewell. 
All of your friends in Washington sympathize with you. 
Again expressing my sympathy, I am, in joy and sorrow, 

Truly your friend, 

Ruth S. Morrill. 

From the wife of Senator Dawes. 

Pittsfield, Mass., April 18, 1S94. 
(My dear (Mrs. Ferriss : 

You know that Mr. Dawes was very fond of Mr. Ferriss and so were we all, and 
the world seems very lonely, when I think of it, without his pleasant, substantial face. 
It has been a long time since we have seen either of you, but you know it is real com- 
panionship to remember those we love, and to know that they sometimes think about 
us also. 

I have been writing to many of my friends during the last two weeks asking 
them to come and celebrate with us our golden wedding, and I expected to write to 
you and your husband to-day. This morning the paper came giving me the tidings of 
your sorrow— so sudden. I wish I could do something to comfort you, and to show 
my sympathy. Very sincerely, 

E. S. Dawes. 

From Judge and Mrs. Wylie. 

Washington, D. C, April 12, 1894. 
(My dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

We were shocked beyond expression to see the announcement of the sudden 
death of your good and honored husband. Only about two weeks since, when he 
sat in our library, in response to my remark, " you never grow any older " — " Why 
should I, I never was sick in my life," he replied. Verily, in the midst of life we are 
in death. 

May God in His mercy sustain you in your hour of trial. 

Your deeply sympathizing friend, 

Mary Caroline Wylie. 

35 



From James M. Tyler. Judge Supreme Court, Vermont. 

Montpelier, Vt., April 16, 1894. 
Dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

I am unspeakably grieved to learn of the death of the wise and good Judge Fer- 
riss — your husband, my friend. I never knew a man of more sterling worth — pure 
as gold, true as steel. I have met very few men in my life to whom I became so 
strongly attached. 

Will you and your son accept my sincerest sympathy in your great bereavement ? 

Sincerely yours, 

James M. Tyler. 

Part of letter from Col. J. L. Cunningham, President of the Glens Falls Insurance Co. 

Although I had known Judge Ferriss since 1865 and highly respected his public 
life and personal character, I really knew but little of the man as revealed to me in the 
intimate acquaintance and almost daily association with him which came to be my 
privilege and pleasure during the last few years. These delightful opportunities for 
knowing him thoroughly warmed my respect into sincere appreciation and friend- 
ship. 

Judge Ferriss was not given to professions or demonstrations. He did not ad- 
vertise his friendships, kindnesses, favors or sympathy ; nor did he seek acknowledg- 
ment or even appreciation for what was so natural to his kindly spirit. There are 
many for whom he has spoken the friendly word and done the friendly deed, who, if 
they ever knew the fact at all, never knew it from him. * * He was a genial 
companion, always hopeful and cheerful; a helpful business associate and a loyal 
friend. I am thankful to have had his wordless sympathy in all its depth and tender- 
ness ; the help of his generous encouragement and the profitable pleasure of many 
social hours brightened and sweetened by his pure and manly personality. 



Brooklyn, April 16, 1894. 
My dear Friend : 

You have our tenderest love and sympathy in your great bereavement. Mr. 
Ketcham and our children join in condolence with you and your son for the loss of 
one of the noblest and best of men. May the constant consciousness of ever-present 
infinite love sustain and soothe you, is the prayer of 

Yours sincerely, 

A. A. Ketcham. 

36 



Second Auditor's Office, Treasury Department, April 12, 1894. 

My Dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

I cannot tell you how surprised and grieved we were to learn, through the papers 
this morning, of the sudden death of our dear, good, faithful and true friend, Judge 
Ferriss; especially when he was here so very recently, and looking and feeling appar- 
ently so very well — even fresher and better than when he left here as Second Auditor 
many years ago. I hear nothing but expressions of kind feelings from everyone in 
regard to him. If he had an enemy I never heard of him. His genial spirits and his 
truthful, straightforward ways — frank, simple and childlike, almost — endeared him to 
everyone with whom he was acquainted. And I must say that I have never met any 
person who was so remarkable in this respect ; and it was all the more surprising, 
too, considering the important positions which he has held from time to time, and 
the society in which he has moved. He was always the same plain, truthful, manly 
man. 

With renewed expressions of sorrow for yourself and family, I am 

Sincerely yours, 

F. H. GOODALL. 



Glens Falls, April 12, 1894. 

Dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

I feel impelled to offer my sympathy in this, your hour of grief. 

Judge Ferriss was one of my best friends. He had my highest regard. His life 
is a noble monument to the younger generations. I shall remember his life with 
pleasure and profit, and mourn sincerely his going from us. 

Believe me very sincerely, 

N. R. GOURLEY. 



10 Grove Avenue, Friday. 

CMy dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

1 am proud of the life your husband has lived, and have gladly called the atten- 
tion of my boys to it, showing them how it pays to have kept himself unspotted 
all his many years, and to have, both in public and private, lived a pure, noble life, 
beyond suspicion. With much love, 

Mrs. Sheraun Williams. 

37 



New York, April 25, 1894. 
My dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

I was dreadfully shocked to read of the Judge's death in the Herald ; shocked 
that one in such apparent robust health should be cut down without warning. 

In the happy hours we spent together in Easton, my admiration and respect for 
him increased day by day until I looked upon him as my ideal of a true, staunch and 
lovable man. His simplicity, rugged honesty and thorough uprightness I have always 
considered as the acme of perfection. For many years my worship has been of men 
rather than things, and what they symbolize, and Judge Ferriss always had my warm- 
est and thorough admiration. I have lost a man I had always looked up to. 

With many regards for Louis and thoughts and love for yourself always, either 
in sorrow or happiness, Affectionately, 

368 West 11 6th Street. Clive Mecklem. 



Washington, D. C, April 13, 1894. 
CMy dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

Your sorrow comes very near to me. There is general mourning here amongst 
the friends of your husband at the loss of a good man and friend. 

May God be with you through these darkest days. With love and sincerest 
sympathy, believe me, Affectionately your friend, 

Carrie Beard Evans. 



Washington, D. C, April 14, 1894. 
(My dear (Mrs. Ferriss :' 

The sad news of your bereavement, which I saw in our morning paper on Thurs- 
day, is more fully expressed in the copy of the Daily Times of Glens Falls, which I 
received to day. I think the writer of the editorial therein has presented a most just 
and appreciative account of Judge Ferriss' character and life, and no one need desire 
a higher encomium. His life's work was well done and we believe in the rest that 
remaineth. 

Mrs. Davis joins in sincerest sympathy, and now believe me, dear Mrs. Ferriss, 

Very sincerely yours, 

. Louis J. Davis. 

38 



Washington, April 19H1, 1894. 
£My dear ZMrs. Ferriss ; 

I was shocked and grieved to hear the sorrow which has befallen you. Judge Fer- 
riss always seemed my particular friend. I well remember his cordiality, and the in- 
terest he always manifested in me and my children. He was greatly beloved here and has 
hosts of friends who loved and respected him, and so many unfortunate ones whom 
he befriended and helped to a better and easier life. You must indeed feel grateful, 
dear Mrs. Ferriss, for the record of his long and useful life, the esteem in which his 
own people — the men who had known him longest and most intimately — held him 
and the honor in which they held his public services, and his blameless, benificent 
private life. I felt very glad to read the interesting and very gratifying obituary 
which was sent us, and felt that all these words of genuine praise and appreciation 
must be of great value to you. 

With a great deal of love, dear Mrs. Ferriss, believe me 

Yours affectionately, 

Annie Clymer McKim. 



My dear Mrs. Ferriss : 

It was with the deepest regret and sorrow that I learned through the press of the 
death of your beloved husband. 

In one of the papers, among other things said of him, I saw two short phrases so 
full of meaning, and that only a life well spent could have called forth — " leaving be- 
hind him an admirable record as a man," " bequeathing to posterity a spotless name 
and a life to pattern by." 

Expressing again my sorrow and sympathy, I am, 

Most sincerely, 
April fifteenth. Frank Paul Leetch. 



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